In the confectionery field, it is known to use sugar substitutes in the composition of high boiled candies, low boiled candies or chewable gums in amounts sufficient to provide a sweetening effect for replacing totally or partially the sugar while conferring similar setting and hardening properties. Sugar substitutes are chemically known as polyhydric alcohols or polyols. These polyols are good sweeteners and they advantageously help reduce the amount of calories in the confectionery product. They also have a well recognized beneficial effect on the reduction of tooth decay. Indeed, such polyols are resistant to the metabolism by oral bacteria which break down the sugars and starches to produce acids responsible for decay. For example, WO 97/03569 describes a specific sugar-free candy with a hygroscopic hard cooked maltitol core encased within a hard cooked non-hygroscopic sugar alcohol casing.
For these reasons, such polyols have been widely used as ingredients of confectionery products. A few polyols, such as xylitol or erythritol, are also known as having refreshing or cooling properties, which are mainly due to their negative heat of solution of a magnitude much higher than any other polyols or sugars. Therefore, these particular polyols have served as sugar substitutes mainly in the composition of chewing gums or toothpaste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,801 relates to a dragé comprising a core and a shell of edible material enveloping the core and adhering to the latter, wherein the shell is formed by an intimate mixture of microcrystals of xylitol with a fatty substance. The core can be selected from a great variety of edible materials such as gums, jelly, almonds or agglomerated sugar or polyol mass. The goal of this patent is to make a xylitol shell of extremely compact and intimate microcrystalline structure having a smooth aspect of the outer surface thereof. Although the resulting product might have a certain pleasant sensation of freshness in the mouth due to the presence of xylitol in the coating of the confectionery, the effect only remains a relatively cool solid taste of the coating which melts slowly into the mouth. The cooling effect is also likely to be hidden, or at least reduced, because of the presence of the fat such as the cocoa butter that is added to the mixture to form the compact microcrystalline xylitol layer. Furthermore, the xylitol remains thermodynamically unstable and hygroscopic, so that its use only in the coating is unsuitable in that it might lose its refreshing power over time. Also, when in the presence of a warm and wet environment, the coating would have a tendency to dissolve while calorific energy is given off by the resulting solution before the sweet is consumed.
In view of this, improved confectionery products for providing an enhanced cooling effect are needed, and the present invention provides such improved products.